Greetings everyone and a warm welcome to my new subscribers this month.
After more Winter magic in the rose garden this month, it was finally time to start pruning, my favourite task of the whole gardening year, and I share with you the single most important thing in my pruning kit bag!
The we head on a journey to a garden with some of the best rose arches I have ever seen.
We look at a natural and novel pest control solution, before entering the world of the original celebrity florist, Constance Spry.
And from the comfort of our armchairs view some treasures of Australian Impressionist Art.
I hope you enjoy the diverse and delicious delights I have found for you this month!
Being close to the sea here, we don’t experience heavy frosts, but some mornings you awaken to find the roses are encrusted with crystal dew drops which disappear into thin air as the weak Winter sunshine shines upon them.
Please enjoy this photo essay of the last blooms of the season at Sages Cottage Farm. And if you think you know the names of any of the roses please drop me a line!
Dior Rose Jewellery Collection
The house of Dior is also thinking of jewel encrusted roses with the launch of the Dior Rose high jewellery collection. Here are three out of the 116 miniature works of art that have been created using the rose for inspiration.
The last buds have opened, the leaves have dropped, and bud eyes are beginning to swell and sprout. Unless you are prone to severe frosts, the time for pruning in Melbourne and surrounds, has arrived, but why do we prune? Once you know why you are pruning, the how becomes so much easier and more joyful.
Esther Geldenhuys explains it beautifully in her book (pictured above).
“One of the most wonderful attributes of a rose is that each year you can start with a new plant by cutting out the old wood and building up the plant on the new wood.
When pruning is neglected year after year, the quality of flowers deteriorates and there will be no new growth. If, however, a rose is pruned properly, and it is well fed and watered during the season, it will give you a new plant virtually each year and the plant will live longer.” p.80
So, before I begin pruning, I get together all my equipment: a pair of sharp secateurs (also known as pruning shears), a pair of loppers for anything larger than a centimetre in diameter, a small and a large pruning saw, gauntlet gloves, a bottle of tea tree oil spray to disinfect my tools between plants, and my number one pruning requirement - a pair of safety specs.
Below is a picture of my SafeStyle safety glasses with wrap around protection. I don’t know how many times these glasses have saved me from a serious eye injury, because when you are focusing on a branch in the distance you often don’t see what is right in front of your eyes. So, before you even pick up the secateurs, please put your glasses on!
This month I am delighted to share some photos sent in from one of my readers, Bonnie Raymond, who lives in Washington State. Bonnie is the manager of the Formal Rose Garden that is part of the Master Gardener’s Demonstration Garden in Kennewick, Washington.
The Goals of the Demonstration Garden are to:
- Raise public awareness of sound gardening practices through teaching, testing, and demonstration.
- Demonstrate various types of locally suitable trees, shrubs, and other plants, and their uses in home landscapes and gardens.
- Provide a place of beauty and tranquillity for garden visitors of all ages.
Thank you very much Bonnie for the fabulous photos. I am sure your garden fulfils all of those goals.
Another long-time supporter and contributor to my newsletter, Paul Grace of Luke’s Lawns & Gardens in Greenfield, Indiana, has sent me an update. Paul has set up bird feeders in his rose garden (above) to attract birds to assist with pest management, and his experiment has been successful at keeping the rose slugs and the Japanese Beetles at bay. And the beautiful array of birds that visit his garden is certainly
a garden feature. Well done, Paul, keep up the great work!
Row 1: Red Winged Blackbird, Northern Cardinals, Mourning Doves
Row 2: House Sparrow, House Finches, Goldfinch
Row 3: European Starling, Downy Woodpecker, Brown Headed Cowbird
Constance Spry and the Fashion For Flowers
I knew of the rose, Constance Spry, before I knew of the person. The first rose introduced by David Austin in 1965 was Constance Spry, named for the 20th century’s most influential floral decorator, who was also an author and educator and a collector of Old Roses. Constance Spry was the first David Austin Rose that I painted (pictured above).
I wrote about Constance Spry and the experience of painting this magnifcent rose back in 2017. You can read the story here.
The Garden Museum in London is currently presenting Constance Spry and the Fashion For Flowers - an immersive exhibition recreating Spry's florist shop and her drawing room, and displaying a wealth of photographs, books and
documents from the RHS archives, and a collection of Spry-designed vases and paraphernalia.
So that you can enjoy the exhibition from home too, a selection of videos, photos and articles have been made available on the Garden Museum website for you to browse through. I particularly recommend that you view the
beautiful black and white footage of the wedding flowers.
Checking my bookshelves I confirmed that I did have one of Constance Spry's many books in my collection. It was a special surprise however to discover that the book was signed by Constance herself in 1959!
Sunlight and She-Oak: Australian Impressionism Exhibition
A Bright Winter's Morning - Walter Withers
The National Gallery of Victoria is currently presenting a wonderful exhibition of Australian Impressionism. Although I haven’t viewed it in person, I've tracked down a listing of the paintings on show until 22 August, and have picked out some real highlights for you. Please enjoy the ethereal, shimmering works of art celebrating the beauty of Nature.
An Old Bee Farm - Clara Southern
A Flower Market - Ethel Carrick
Springtime - Charles Condor
The garden, Longpré-les-Corps-Saints - John Russell
Slumbering Sea - Tom Roberts
A Moorish Doorway - Tom Roberts
Woman in Garden - Iso Rae
And that brings us to the end of another edition of Art, Gardens and Always Roses.
Thank you for your interest and input,
Love and roses.
Michelle
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My Novel: Rose Garden Reverie
A story of transformation set in a rose garden with rose care tips throughout the seasons.
The soft cover book is 110 pages long and costs $20 (Australian Dollars) per copy via the button below with free shipping worldwide.
Also available from online book sellers.
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May the beauty of nature inspire you everyday
Michelle Endersby Art
www.michelleendersbyart.com
phone: 0400 473 173
[email protected]
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